Councils gang up on the 'gas guzzlers'

The crackdown on environmentally unfriendly cars looked like spreading nationwide last night with a number of town halls considering schemes which could triple the cost of parking permits.

Within days of Richmond, in London, rubber-stamping proposals which will lead to cars with the highest carbon emissions facing a tripling in the cost of permits, it emerged that at least two cities and several other boroughs may follow. The Labour Party in Brighton and Hove has said it will include proposals for differential rates in its manifesto for the May council elections. That would see owners of the most polluting cars pay £120 a year for permits, against £80 for vehicles with lower emissions.

It is understood that thought is being given to a similar regime in Manchester, while York has adopted the "carrot" approach by cutting the price of parking permits for cars with particularly low carbon emissions.

At least one other council outside London has asked Richmond about its proposals to curb so-called gas guzzlers.

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But the real clue to the potential take-up of Richmond's example emerged with a flurry of interest in the annual conference of the Association for Commuter Transport next month.

Serge Lourie, the Liberal Democrat leader of Richmond, who pioneered the proposals, will speak at the conference to spread the gospel of using parking costs as a weapon in the battle against climate change. He will explain why he decided to treble to £300 the cost of a parking permit for a car emitting more than 225grams of CO2 per kilometre – a move which will not only hit so-called Chelsea Tractors and other 4x4s, but also people carriers used by larger families, sports cars and some family vehicles.

Normally the conference attracts around 150 delegates, but Mr Lourie's appearance has led to 170 attending, the highest number for years.

According to a spokesman for the ACT at least nine other London authorities alone are ready to use parking charges as a weapon.

Interest seems to cross party lines. A spokesman for Tory-controlled Kensington and Chelsea said: "The council is considering a modest graduation in the level of residents' permit charges, linked to vehicle excise duty emissions. This is to encourage motorists to choose a less polluting vehicle."

Nigel Haselden, the cabinet member at Labour-controlled Lambeth with responsibility for transport, said the council's proposals could see some drivers paying £200 for an annual parking permit.

"We want to have an impact on the car ownership regime and to encourage people to think about the car that they drive or whether they need to have a vehicle at all."

As well as the stick, the council is looking to encourage "car clubs" – where motorists share vehicles and only use them when necessary – by reserving parking spaces for them.

A spokesman for AA Public Affairs said: "It is a badly misguided policy. CO2 emissions are no worse than they were in 1994, despite the fact there are 5.8 million more cars on our roads today."Other councils with their sights on 4x4s are: Brighton and Hove; Kensington and Chelsea; Lambeth; Tower Hamlets; Camden; Barking and Dagenham; Haringey; Southwark; Brent; Hackney; and Manchester.